(1.) Field of the Invention
The present invention consists of a device for draining aqueous humor in cases of glaucoma.
(2.) Prior Art
Glaucoma is a disease of the eyes, so-called from the greenish tinge acquired by the pupil, the main signs of which are an increase in intraocular pressure, leading to atrophy of the optic disk, hardening of the ocular globe, and finally blindness.
The increase in intraocular pressure that normally arises in the production of a glaucoma occurs as a consequence of a dysfunction by which the aqueous humor produced by the ciliary body exceeds the capacity of the trabecular network to eliminate it.
The increase in intraocular pressure is what medicine aims to correct in order to control the disease.
One of the most advanced surgical techniques for this purpose is Stegman's viscocanalostomy, or one of its variants such as the deep sclerectomy used by Mermoud and by Sourdille.
Both professionals seek to keep the intrascleral filtration space open by the use of a device, which, in Mermoud's case, consists of using pig collagen, while Sourdille prefers the use of hyaluronic acid.
Such devices leave an intrascleral filtration lake some 100 to 150 microns deep by some 400 microns in width, and thus permits intraocular pressure to be adequately regulated.
These are effective solutions for maintaining the intrascleral space, but they are also temporary, since with time they are reabsorbed.